World News Quick Take

Agencies

JAPAN

Club owner dissolved

Seven people who allegedly dissolved the body of a gigolo-club owner using chemicals found in drain cleaner have been arrested by Japanese police, officials and media reports said on Friday. Masamichi Tsuchida, then 43, disappeared from his Tokyo “host club,” where female guests pay to be entertained. The club’s 31-year-old co-owner, a 26-year old former employee, their ex-wives and two relatives were arrested, according to police and a report in the Nikkan Sports tabloid. The gruesome body disposal — a method favored by Walter White in the US TV series Breaking Bad — was uncovered after police found a dental implant in a sewage tank, they said. The Sports Hochi tabloid said the suspects purchased sodium hydroxide after the victim vanished in November 2010. Police believe the body was dissolved in one suspect’s bathroom.

PHILIPPINES

Murder suspect extradited

The FBI has captured a fugitive in the Philippines, 20 years after he allegedly shot his wife’s friend in a US restaurant. Santiago Pedroso, 71, faces murder charges for the death of 41-year-old Delores Alvarez. Pedroso’s estranged wife, Maria Gomez, had moved in with Alvarez shortly before his death in 1992, according to newspaper reports at the time. Pedroso allegedly shot Alvarez five times as his daughter shouted for him to stop, the Philadelphia Inquirer said. Authorities in the Philippines arrested him in Manila on Sept. 9 and deported him. He was arraigned on Friday on charges that include murder and illegal possession of a firearm. Alvarez had recently moved to Philadelphia from California, where she worked for Hughes Aircraft Corp, according to news reports. Pedroso is due in court on Oct. 9.

CHINA

Maduro touts friendship

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said he had arrived in Beijing yesterday after accusing the US of refusing his plane access to its airspace for the journey. “I have just arrived in China to strengthen friendship and cooperation between our two countries,” Maduro, successor to deceased former president Hugo Chavez, said on a newly created account on the Sina Weibo microblogging service. The visit comes amid high tensions between Washington and Caracas, which described as “insulting” on Thursday the US’ alleged decision to refuse Maduro permission to use its airspace. Washington denied the charges on Friday, saying US authorities worked with the Venezuelan embassy to resolve the issue after being given insufficient notice. Maduro, who is in China until Tuesday, is set to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平).

CHINA

US stunt pilot’s body found

Divers have found the body of a missing US stunt pilot whose plane crashed into a lake while attempting a tricky maneuver in the rain, the head of the team searching for him said on Friday. David Riggs, whose US pilot’s license had been suspended, had been missing since Tuesday’s accident outside the city of Shenyang in which his young female Chinese translator died. Riggs was in the country to take part in an air show and was apparently rehearsing one of his tricks when the accident occurred. An official said Riggs’ body was found during a search of the bottom of Lake Caihu by divers from the Dalian branch of the Beihai Rescue Bureau. Riggs’ plane broke into pieces after hitting the lake and some parts had been recovered, including one of its two seats. The cause of the accident remains under investigation.